Monument record MLI40346 - Settlement of Wragby

Summary

The settlement of Wragby is first mentioned in the Domesday Book and survives to the present.

Type and Period (6)

  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1699 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Modern - 1000 AD to 2050 AD)
  • (Post Medieval - 1700 AD to 1900 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1699 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 966 AD to 1199 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1500 AD to 1899 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Wragby is first mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name is thought to derive from the Old Norse personal name 'Wraggi' and the Old Danish word 'by', meaning 'Wraggi's farmstead or village'. Land there was owned by Erneis de Burun and Waldin the Engineer. For Erneis de Burun, 'Gudeta had 6 (and a half) bovates of land (assessed) to the geld. There is land for 12 oxen. Ernegis has 1 team there (in demesne), and 10 villeins with 1.5 teams. There is a church there, and a priest, and half a mill rendering 12 pence, and 24 acres of meadow. There is wood(land) for pannage, 4 furlongs in length and 4 in breadth. There is underwood 5 furlongs in length and 5 in breadth. Tempore Regis Edwardi (before 1066) it was worth 14 pounds; now 10 pounds; tallage 10 pounds.' For Waldin the Engineer, 'Godeuert had 5 (and a half) bovates of land (assessed) to the geld. There is land for 2 teams. Waldin has 1 team there (in demesne), and 3 sokemen on (de) 2 bovates of this land and 4 villeins and 5 bordars with 1.5 teams, and the site of a mill, and 16 acres of meadow, and 240 acres of wood(land) for pannage throughout the territory. Tempore Regis Edwardi (before 1066) it was worth 30 shillings; now 35 shillings; tallage 5 shillings.' {1}{2} The Lay Subsidy of 1334 lists the settlement's wealth as £3 12s 8d, about average for its wapentake (Wraggoe). {3} A charter was acquired by Robert de Ros in 1285 for a market to be held in the village. The Poll Tax returns of 1377 record the number of taxpayers at this time as 150. {4} The Diocesan Return of 1563 records 35 households in the parish. {5} There were 53 families in the parish by the late 17th century. This had fallen to 52 by the early 18th century. Three of these families were noted as being Anabaptist. {6} Notable residents of the village in 1856 are listed in White's Directory. 610 souls were recorded as being in the parish at this time. {7} Earthworks of a medieval moated manorial complex (see PRN 43631) and the former Church of All Saints (see PRN 40345) lie to the immediate south-east of the modern settlement centre. At some point in the late medieval or early post-medieval periods, the focus of settlement in Wragby seems to have moved away from this early centre. By 1836, the former church was considered to be inconveniently distant, and a faculty was obtained for its demolition and subsequent re-building in its present location (see PRN 46722). {8} Three rings, dating from the early 16th century, were found in January 1980, in the back garden of 7 The Crescent, Wragby (PRN 40346a - TF 1356 7787). Two were made of silver and one was made of gold. The rings were declared as treasure trove in March 1980 and are now in the City and County Museum. {9}{10}{11} Two redeposited sherds of late medieval pottery were recovered in December 1999, during archaeological monitoring of groundworks for the construction of a new health centre at Wragby (PRN 40346b - TF 1331 7814). Both sherds were from the same Toynton or Bolingbroke ware vessel, dating from the 15th or early 16th century. The sherds had formed part of a lug handle with splashed glaze, but showed evidence of mis-firing or burning. {12}{13} The remains of a late post-medieval ditch was recorded in February 2000, during trial trenching on land off Victoria Street, Wragby (PRN 40346c - TF 1324 7810). The feature was aligned on a north to south axis, and was thought to have functioned as a former property boundary marker, possibly associated with the nearby former coaching inn known as the Turnor Arms (see PRN 43824). The ditch had been backfilled with relatively modern rubbish, likely relating to the demolition of former structures in this area in the early 20th century. {14}{15} Nine unstratified sherds of medieval pottery were recovered in June 2005, during archaeological monitoring of the construction of an extension to 14 The Crescent (PRN 40346d - TF 1345 7789). The assemblage was largely comprised of fragments from 11th to 12th century wheelthrown Early Medieval Shell-tempered ware jars, although some pieces from later medieval Lincoln Glazed ware jugs were also present. {16}{17} A small quantity of redeposited medieval pottery was recovered in June 2007, during archaeological monitoring of new development on land at Cemetery Road (PRN 40346e - TF 1364 7788). The assemblage contained fragments from a variety of vessel forms, and included pieces of Toynton, Lincoln, Bourne and Nottingham wares as well as non-local fabrics. A single redeposited piece of 13th to 17th century roof tile was also recovered. {18}{19} The remains of a medieval ditch and a probable post-medieval backfilled pond were recorded in December 2016, during trial trenching on land at the former Cattle Market (PRN 40346f - TF 1338 7792). The ditch was quite narrow, and was aligned on a north-east to south-west axis. Two sherds from a late 10th to 12th century Lincoln Fine Shelly ware jar were recovered from the ditch's fill, suggesting an earlier medieval origin for this feature. The probable former pond was identified as a large, bowl-shaped cut feature, to the immediate east of the medieval ditch. A single fragment of 16th to 19th century brick was recovered from the fill of this feature, suggesting a post-medieval date for its excavation. {20}{21}

Sources/Archives (21)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: Kenneth Cameron. 1998. A Dictionary of Lincolnshire Place-Names. p.143.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: C.W. Foster and T. Longley. 1924. Lincolnshire Domesday and Lindsey Survey. 34/12, 47/8.
  •  Article in Serial: R.E. Glasscock. 1964. 'The Lay Subsidy of 1334 for Lincolnshire' in Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Reports and Papers. vol.10.2, p.132.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Graham Platts. 1985. Land and People in Medieval Lincolnshire. appendix 1, p.306.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Gerald A.J. Hodgett. 1975. Tudor Lincolnshire. p.198.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: R.E.G. Cole. 1913. Speculum Dioeceseos Lincolniensis sub Episcopis Gul: Wake et Edm: Gibson A.D.1705-1723. Part 1: Archdeaconries of Lincoln and Stow. pp.146-7.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William White. 1856. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire - Second Edition. pp.656-7.
  •  Article in Serial: A.J. White (ed.). 1981. 'The Moated Site, Churches, and Hedgerow Survey at Wragby, 1979' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.16, pp.19-23.
  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. TF 17 NW: AB.
  •  Artefact: City and County Museum Collection. LM 100.80.
  •  Article in Serial: A.J. White (ed.). 1981. 'Archaeology in Lincolnshire and South Humberside, 1980' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.16, pp.82-3.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 2000. Health and Resource Centre, Wragby. CLAU site code: WHR99.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 2000. Health and Resource Centre, Wragby. LCNCC 123.99.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 2000. Land off Victoria Street, Wragby. PCA site code: VSW00.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 2000. Land off Victoria Street, Wragby. LCNCC 2000.27.
  •  Report: Witham Archaeology. 2005. 14 The Crescent, Wragby. WA site code: WCRS05.
  •  Archive: Witham Archaeology. 2005. 14 The Crescent, Wragby. LCNCC 2005.129.
  •  Report: Lindsey Archaeological Services. 2007. Land at Cemetery Road, Wragby. LAS site code: WRCR 07.
  •  Archive: Lindsey Archaeological Services. 2007. Land at Cemetery Road, Wragby. LCNCC 2007.122.
  •  Report: Witham Archaeology. 2017. Land at the Former Cattle Market, Wragby. WA site code: WRCM16.
  •  Archive: Witham Archaeology. 2017. Land at the Former Cattle Market, Wragby. LCNCC 2016.197.

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Grid reference Centred TF 1338 7793 (751m by 683m) Estimated from sources
Civil Parish WRAGBY, EAST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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